Cyclone Sarai
Cyclone Sarai was an extremely powerful and destructive cyclone that struck Vanuatu and New Caledonia and later New Zealand. It is the most intense and costliest cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere on record, reaching an extraordinary peak of 200 mph(325 km/h) and 880 mbar(25.99 inHg). After spawning on March 1 in a somewhat favorable environment. It reached better conditions which allowed rapid intensification after making landfall in Vanuatu as a Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson scale before making landfall in New Caledonia at peak intensity. From there forward it began weakening. First due to an Eyewall Replacement Cycle then unfavorable conditions further South. It would make a loop lasting 3 days, strengthening again due to a better condition set. However, it started to move SSE again and deteriorated from there due to cooler Sea Surface Temperatures. It would become Extratropical on March 20 and would dissipate on March 22 after making landfall in Northern New Zealand the previous day. All together, Sarai dealt $106.7 billion in damages and killed 416 across Fuji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and New Zealand. It is the strongest cyclone to ever make landfall and it is the strongest cyclone to exist in the Southern Hemisphere on record. Meteorological History Origins, Gradual Intensification and First Landfall On February 27, the Lucarius Cyclonic Agency(LCA) began monitoring an area of disturbed weather well to the East of Vanuatu. Development ensued and on March 1, the Fiji Meteorological Service(FMS) classified it as a Tropical Distubance. It was later given the name Sarai by the FMS with the classification of Category 1 Tropical Cyclone on the Australian scale. The system began to drift to the Southwest, sprouting Tropical Cyclone Watches in Vanuatu. Sarai continued gradual intensification over the next couple days, in an increasingly favorable environment. It reached Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson scale and Category 2 on the Australian scale before making a much anticipated landfall near Port Vila on March 5. Shortly after, it began to head more to the South which sparked concern in New Caledonia. Rapid Intensification, Second Landfall and Weakening Phase Shortly after it's first landfall, the storm began to expand and entered a phase of rapid intensification as it dipped South-Southeast towards New Caledonia. The appearance of an eye showed itself not long after. However, the eye became cloud filled for 3 hours before another one appeared. This one was a pinhole eye, singnaling a Category 3 equivalent cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The FMS increased it to a Category 4 on the Australian scale(it had only spent 9 hours as a Category 3). It wasn't 6 hours later that it was increased to a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. On March 9, the storm's center came within 50 miles of New Caledonia causing a State of Emergency as the storm was upgraded to Category 5 on the Australian scale and was on the brink of doing so on the Saffir-Simpson scale. That night, convection became explosive and Sarai was upgraded to Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale and by the next morning it was already had 1-minute sustained winds of 170 mph(150 mph in 10-minute)with a pressure of 908 mbar. Explosive intensification would continue until it became just off the coast of New Caledonia, reaching a peak intensity of 1-minute sustained winds 200 mph(175 mph in 10-minute)and a minimum central pressure of 880 mbar, making it the strongest since Cyclone Winston in the basin and the most intense on record. It was on March 11 that the storm became the strongest landfall on record. Due to land interaction, it stopped intensifying but it did not weaken for 9 hours afterward. Satellite appearance indicated that it was still 195 mph(170 mph 10-min)after leaving the devastated island. The storm began to go more and more directly to the South as it left the island still as a Category 5 Cyclone. Sarai continued slow weakening as it continued to barrel Southward. It was noted that an Eyewall Replacement Cycle could be beginning within the storm. Despite this, no appearance of one happened until 2 days later. On March 13, the storm weakened to a Category 4 equivalent on the Saffir-Simpson scale due to this Eyewall Replacement Cycle for the first time in over 4 days. Weakening accelerated briefly until Sarai began to turn to the East. It would accelerate East for the next couple days, continuing slow weakening due to unfavorable conditions. On March 14, it would degenerate to a Category 3 before beginning to turn North preparing to do a loop. Loop, Restrengthening, Final Weakening and Demise On March 16, Sarai would execute a loop lasting 3 days. It would once again begin to strengthen again in a better suited environment back to a Category 4 Cyclone, reaching a second peak of 140 mph in 1-minute sustained winds. However, it would go back East-Southeast weakening again. The storm began to accelerate to the ESE at speeds of 7-10 mph. The storm blew up in size, with its convection being displaced showing signs of moderate weakening. The storm, still weakening, would then curve to the West on March 20 becoming Extratropical that same day. It would then slam into New Zealand as a Category 1 Equivalent Extratropical Cyclone on March 21. The Extratropical Cyclone was absorbed by another Frontal System West of New Zealand in the evening of March 22, marking the end of the destructive cyclone's 22 day journey. Impact and Aftermath Fuji As a Tropical Disturbance, the system ran through Fuji in Late February. It managed to drop up to 4 inches of rain, more locally. Damages were totalled near 12.3 million, mostly due to gusty winds however. Only 4 deaths were reported however. Vanuatu Sarai made landfall in Vanuatu as a Category 1 Cyclone(SSHWS). It dropped 3-7 inches of rain in most parts. Locally a bit more. Damages here were however a whopping 1.3 billion due to winds and property damage. Because of lack of urgency with the cyclone, 103 people died. New Caledonia New Caledonia suffered a Category 5 landfall from the storm at peak intensity. Up to 3 feet of storm surge were totaled and 311 deaths were reported as well as 105.2 billion in damages. Some of the island was ruled uninhabitable and over 300,000 people were without power for several months. New Zealand Sarai impacted New Zealand as an Extratropical Cyclone and dealt about 109 million in damages. No fatalities were reported. Only 2 inches were reported with more possible locally. Records and Retirement Sarai became the strongest storm to make landfall and was the strongest in the Southern Hemisphere on record. It is also the costliest in the Southern Hemisphere and the South Pacific basin itself. The WMO retired the name ''Sarai ''due to devastating and widespread damage as well as it's extraordinary intensity and replaced it with ''Sakura. ''Category:South Pacific cyclones Category:Category 5 cyclones